


There’s Nothing Wrong with Making Assumptions

by accordingtomel



Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Social Media, Twitter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 06:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10611231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/accordingtomel/pseuds/accordingtomel
Summary: Bradley signs up for twitter. Colin can’t quite help but read and comment on his tweets. Naturally, this can only lead to trouble.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on my LJ in April of 2011. It's so, so fluffy. Even by my standards! Yikes!
> 
> **Original A/N:** So I told myself I wasn’t going to write a twitter fic. I said, “Self. This is silly and pointless and completely unnecessary. You have better things to be doing.” And then I went ahead and did it anyway. Sadly, this is the shortest thing I’ve written in close to 6 months. Many thanks go to awakencordy for reading it over and giving me feedback/cheering me on, to sabriel75 for the quick and awesome beta, and to ellasphere for agreeing to Brit-pick another RPF fic even though she’s not even a huge fan of the pairing to begin with. You gals are the best! Please be aware that this is basically 4k of gratuitous, teeth-rotting fluff. You have been warned!

"So, I see you're having fun."

Bradley smiles and stretches out on the hotel sofa, mobile phone pressed to his ear. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"With your twitter account. They not working you hard enough this series?"

Of course that's what Colin would pick up on to tease him about, that Bradley is being a lazy arse while he's off recovering from his stint on stage. The nerve!

"Well, you know how it is. They started me off easy this time. Arthur's unconscious within the first episode, from what I can tell, so between laying on the ground and sitting off to the side, I don't have much else to do. Especially without my usual on-set entertainment."

Soft laughter flitters through the phone line, inadvertently making Bradley smile. He's missed the sound, even though it's only been a few days since the last time they spoke.

"What are you on about? You have Tom and Rupert and Eoin and everyone else. You probably haven't even noticed my absence."

"Yeah, but they're not _you_ ," Bradley says with a huff.

Colin groans. "That is possibly the cheesiest thing I've ever heard you say. I don't know whether to be flattered or to worry for your sanity."

"I'd take it as a compliment," Bradley says, nodding for good measure, even though Colin can't see him doing so.

"Yes. Right. So, have I been replaced with the internet? Or your iPhone?"

"Neither." Honestly, what does Colin take him for? "I've had a long-term love affair with my mobile that started well before I ever met you. You were more than aware of this. But for that matter, why the hell are you even following me on twitter in the first place? I thought you were afraid of the internet?"

"Bradley, I'm not _afraid_ of the internet. I just think that there are some frightening things that can be found online, most of which I'd rather avoid."

It is an understatement, if he's ever heard one. Still, back in his _Buffy_ -watching days, Bradley may or may not have frequented a couple of online message boards. In fact, at one point he was one of the most frequent posters on one of said boards. Embarrassingly enough, he is quite sure he'd written a fanfiction once about Buffy and Spike that might still be accessible in the interwebs somewhere, but it's one of those things he tries to forget about. There are still some boundaries that even Bradley isn't willing to cross.

"Fair enough. But that doesn't explain why you're keeping an eye on my twitter page."

"Oh, I don't know. It may have something to do with the fact that you've sent me a good ten e-mails and texts about it already, saying things such as - and I quote - 'Colin, I got a twitter! You should get one too!', 'Colin, check me out on twitter', 'Have you started following me on twitter yet?', 'I'm starting to think you haven't read anything from my twitter. Why aren't you responding?', and so on. It was either that, or face your constant barrage of multi-modal harassment for however long you decide this is a good idea for."

"You make me sound obsessed or something."

Colin snorts rather loudly into Bradley's ear. "Your words, not mine."

Bradley decides to ignore the comment. "Did you like my confirmation picture?"

"Is that the one that was all sparkly and featured Tom and Ade?"

"It was _not_ sparkly!" Bradley protests.

Colin chuckles softly. "Well it might as well have been. The little stars were a nice touch, though."

Bradley beams. "That was my idea. I thought so too."

Silence fills the line.

"Let me have my pretend victory, Col."

"Your talent and creativity knows no bounds, Bradley."

"Thank you. And I'm even going to pretend that I didn't hear the sarcastic tone to your voice when you said that."

"Good for you."

Bradley shifts to a sitting position and stares at the blank television across the room. He's barely looked at the telly since he discovered the joys of twitter. "So, was there any particular reason you rung me up, or did you just want to harass me about my online activities?"

"No, not really. I just—"

"Missed me?" Bradley supplies, when Colin hesitates just a fraction longer than entirely necessary.

Another long pause follows. "Yeah, something like that."

"I figured as much. I've heard similar statements before. It's hard to be away from me for too long, once you're hooked." 

"How are you simultaneously so down to earth and yet so bloody arrogant at the same time?"

Smirking, Bradley pictures the accompanying eye roll to Colin's statement. "It's just one of my many talents."

"Yes, well, you keep telling yourself that," Colin says with affection. "I have to go, but I'll see you in a few days, yeah? Don't get yourself into too much trouble while I'm not around to watch out for you."

Bradley wants to say that he won't, but they both know it'd be a lie. He's barely able to keep himself out of trouble when Colin _is_ around, never mind when he isn't.

As soon as he hangs up the phone, Bradley shoots off a quick text to Colin, as an afterthought: _I missed you too._

~*~

"How come you never post any pictures of me?"

Bradley blinks, pushing his sunglasses off his face to glance up at Colin, who is suddenly standing in front of him.

"Excuse me?"

"On your twitter. How come you never post any pictures of me on twitter?"

"Um—" He isn't prepared for this conversation. Especially not when it's in the middle of a long day of filming.

"I notice you've posted a few of Rupert over the last couple of days," Colin continues, as if Bradley never spoke at all.

Something strikes Bradley in that instant. "Are you jealous?"

"No, I'm very much not." Colin shakes his head and laughs, as if it's a preposterous notion. "Stop flattering yourself, James."

Bradley, on the other hand, is not convinced just yet. "Then why are you asking?"

"Because I want to know?" Colin shrugs a shoulder and plops down on the empty chair beside him.

Holding up a hand, Bradley starts listing his points on his fingers. "For starters, I was filming with Rupert a lot over the past two days, and it was his damn e-mail address that infected my poor computer with a virus. Secondly, I don't think I'm even allowed to post any pictures of you as Merlin online right now, due to your new costume. I guess they consider that a spoiler? I don't know. I just don't want to get canned for something stupid like that. Lastly, even if I was able to take and post pictures of you, you wouldn't want me to anyway, would you?"

"Well, no," Colin says slowly.

"So then, why are we having this conversation?"

"I don't know. I was just wondering. For research purposes."

But there's more to it than just that. Bradley smiles over at Colin, eyes tracing the outline of his profile. "Do you want me to set up a second twitter account for the sole purpose of taking and posting pictures of you when you're not in costume? Because I can do that if it'll make you happy."

Colin smacks his arm and laughs, shooting Bradley an incredulous look. "You're absolutely ridiculous. You know that, right?"

Warmth settles in Bradley's chest and he resists the urge to reach out and do something idiotic and ill-advised, such as ruffling Colin's hair, or worse - leaning in to press a kiss against his lips.

"It's all part of my charm."

"Or at least that's what you like to tell yourself."

"You wound me, Colin," Bradley says, placing a hand on his heart and sighing dramatically.

"So...?" Colin asks eventually, eyebrows rising high on his forehead.

"So."

"You still haven't answered my question about the twitter pictures."

Bradley heaves a sigh and shifts in the chair until his body is facing Colin. "All right, fine. You want to know why I haven't posted any pictures of you? Aside from the fact that you don't want me to, and I'm not allowed anyway? It's for your own protection. People have already jumped to their own conclusions about us and the nature of our relationship. There's no need to add more fuel to that fire, no matter how innocent they may be. I know it makes you uncomfortable."

"Only because I don't understand the fascination with fantasizing about the personal lives of others as if they know us. They don't know the first thing about either you or I."

Shrugging, Bradley smiles encouragingly at Colin, poking gently at his knee. "No, they don't. But really, aside from the fact that it's a little weird, it's not as if it's hurting anyone, right? I mean, you and I know exactly where we stand, and that's all that matters."

Colin teases his bottom lip between his teeth, the angle of the light casting a shadow over his dark, long lashes, making them stand out even more prominently than usual. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." Bradley grins cheekily. Leaning forward so his mouth is almost pressed to Colin's ear, Bradley drops his voice considerably to add, "Besides, I don't want to share you with anyone else."

He'd be lying if he claimed that Colin's responding shiver isn't immensely satisfying.

~*~

Now that he knows Colin is actually checking his twitter with relative frequency, Bradley makes a point of tweeting at least one message to Colin every few days.

It's nothing elaborate or obvious to anyone but them, but it fills him with a sense of contentment to know that he's making Colin smile. Or, at least that's what he _hopes_ he's doing.

They're usually generic enough that his followers won't think twice about it. For example, two days ago Bradley tweeted _'Excellent day of filming, with great company. Though not enough time for lunch, unfortunately'_ after he and Colin had snuck away from set to have lunch on their own, only to be found half an hour later, quite by accident. Today he plans on tweeting about how a smiling face in the morning can make all the difference in the world, because his morning had been quite awful until he’d seen Colin. There's something special about that man, and the power of his broad, dimpled smile. It does funny things to Bradley, things he hasn't felt since he was a teenager with all too active hormones.

So he tweets to Colin too, because it's fun, and it makes both of them happy.

~*~

"So, remind me of why I'm doing this again?"

"Because I haven't had a chance to check my timeline in a day, and I have to get ready for dinner, otherwise we're going to be late." Bradley pokes his head out of the bathroom, face still half covered with shaving cream. "Also, because you love me and you're the best boyfriend I could ever ask for?"

Colin groans and rolls his eyes, but doesn't shut the laptop still resting on his legs. "I see what you're doing here."

"Is it working?"

There is a pause, and then, "Yeah, I guess so."

Bradley resumes shaving, smirking at himself in the mirror.

"I don't know how you do this. Don't you find it intrusive to have people constantly asking you things, demanding a response from you, and passing along links to random stuff?"

"Not really. I mean, some people are creepy and annoying, but I just block them until they've calmed down. Most of them seem like rather decent folks, though. And they helped me out when my computer had a virus. Couldn't have done that on my own."

"I guess not," Colin agrees. "So, what do you want me to do? Read all these comments out loud to you?"

"Nah. Just skim them, and let me know if anyone says anything interesting."

Several grumbles filter in his direction, but then Colin goes quiet, so Bradley assumes he's finally taken to his task.

"Not much so far," Colin says, at length. "Some people are asking for series four spoilers. You have various fans from all over the world sharing what country loves _Merlin_ , and a number of people commenting on your last post thing. Oh, and two people asked if you're ever going to reveal what the 'M' stood for in your original twitter name."

"People are still asking about that?"

"Apparently."

Bradley emerges from the bathroom and walks down the hall towards the bedroom, leaving the door open so he can still hear Colin as he changes.

"Actually, come to think of it, you never did tell me what the 'M' was for, either," Colin calls out. "I sort of just assumed it was supposed to be a play on Georgia's name. Since she's your 'girlfriend' and all. And since there's no actual 'M' anywhere in your name."

Smirking to himself, Bradley shakes his head and pulls on a pair of black trousers. "That's the clever part, because I was banking on people jumping to that very conclusion. After all, we've managed to convince everyone that Georgia and I are dating, so logically it would make sense that I might do something to acknowledge that."

"You know we can't keep this charade up forever, yeah?"

"Of course not," Bradley agrees, "but we might as well enjoy the freedom as long as we have it. I've told Georgia a hundred times that she doesn't have to do this, but she keeps insisting that it's no big deal."

They can't lie about this indefinitely, and sooner or later she's going to get bored of pretending to be his girlfriend, but for now, Bradley is eternally grateful to Georgia for doing this for them. It's a favour he can't even begin to figure out how to repay. But they will, somehow.

"I guess you're right." A pause, and then, "So, if it wasn't because of that, then what was with the 'M'?"

Bradley fumbles with the last button on his dress shirt before snatching the tie from the end of his bed and leaving the room.

"You want to know what it stood for?" Bradley asks, coming to stand in front of Colin. The truth is rather embarrassing, now that he's being forced to admit it, but it probably would have come out eventually anyway. Or not.

Colin nods. "Yes. Of course."

Taking a deep breath, Bradley steels himself and says, "It stood for 'Morgan'."

A moment of silence passes before, "You're joking, right?"

"I wish I was, but no. I'm serious. I needed to use _something_ , and that's what I came up with."

Colin continues to stare at him like he doesn't know how to respond before he eventually says, "Bradley, that's really rather—"

"Lame? Ridiculous? Embarrassing? I know!"

"Actually, I was going to say 'adorable', though I guess it's also a bit reckless. I'm flattered, though. You really are quite the charmer, aren't you James?"

"Er, well... I try?"

Bradley glances down at his socked feet, still feeling foolish. But he's grateful that Colin's so accepting of his quirks, and never makes him feel like an idiot, even though he has the tendency to act like one on occasion.

Turning to find his shoes, he suddenly remembers something. "Um, Col?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could help me with my tie?"

Colin closes the laptop and sets it on the sofa beside him before rising to his feet. "You know you're going to have to learn how to tie these on your own some day, don't you?" he teases, playful smirk tugging at his lips as his hands come up to wrap around Bradley's neck.

"I know. But I like it so much better when you're here to do it for me," Bradley says, and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. In truth, he learned how to tie a necktie back when he was in high school, after his mum insisted that it was a skill he needed to possess. Both of them are aware of this fact, but sometimes it's fun to pretend that he requires the assistance anyway. Plus, the feel of Colin's fingers ghosting across his neck is nothing short of heavenly.

"You're hopeless," Colin says, and tugs Bradley forward by the collar until their lips meet. The kiss is soft and tender, both sweet and loving in equal measure, and Bradley sighs into it contentedly.

"Now, come on. Let's get going or we really _are_ going to be late," Colin orders when they break apart, and Bradley laughs into the space between them.

"Yes, sire."

~*~

See, it's not so much that Bradley's careless, as it is that he's care _free_. Or at least that's what he's always liked to tell himself. When teachers and parents would tell him that he needed to think before he acted, Bradley thought it was more of a _suggestion_ rather than an actual necessity. He means well, he always does. There are thoughts and opinions and strokes of genius just sitting around in his brain, waiting to burst forth, and it seems like it might be a crying shame to filter those kinds of things. It may or may not have landed him in a bit of hot water, at times, over the years, but he prides himself on having an opinion, and not being afraid to speak his mind.

Of course, sometimes this general life philosophy tends to backfire on him, and this may or may not be one of those situations (though probably is).

"Uh oh," Bradley says, staring hard at the screen on his iPhone, as though that will somehow make everything go away.

"Uh oh, what? I don't like the sound of that." Colin's head darts to the side, hands stilling.

"Um, well... I may have posted something kind of stupid on twitter."

"And this is different from normal _how_?" Colin asks with a teasing smirk.

But he might not be laughing when he hears what Bradley's gone and done.

"So, you know how my mum's here to visit for a few days?"

Colin blinks. "Yes."

"And how we're going out for dinner with her in about twenty minutes?"

He nods slowly, as if Bradley's losing his mind. "Yeah...?"

"Well... I may have sort of tweeted about it." There is an upward inflection at the end of his statement, as though he's asking a question instead of making a statement.

"Tweeted about it. How, exactly?"

There is a bit of a mildly panicked expression on Colin's face, but Bradley's gaze falls to his hands instead, which have begun to absently play with the cuff of his left sleeve. It's something Colin always does when he's nervous or distressed about something.

Bradley holds up both of his hands in a placating gesture, reaching out to touch Colin's knee but then deciding against the action at the last moment and pulling them back to rest on his lap. "Don't worry, I didn't say that we were going on a dinner date with my mum or anything. But, uh, it's not much better, I'm afraid."

"Just... what did you do, Bradley?" Colin asks, hand betraying his otherwise calm presentation.

Glancing down at the mobile still resting on his thigh, Bradley picks it up and scrolls through his recent tweets one last time before meeting Colin's gaze. "Well, earlier this morning I tweeted: _'Mum is visiting the set today. Have a long day of filming with Col, but it should be a lot of fun.'_ "

"Okay," Colin says carefully, eyes boring into Bradley's with a sense of eager anxiousness. "But I assume that's not the part I won't like."

He tries not to cringe as he shakes his head. Really, it's not _that_ bad. Or so he hopes.

"So, uh, about forty-five minutes ago I tweeted the following: _'Going out for dinner in an hour with two of the people I love most in the world. How lucky can I be?'_ "

Colin merely stares at him for a long while, expression disturbingly guarded before he seems to visibly deflate. "That's it?" he finally says, looking far more relieved than Bradley anticipated.

"That's it? What do you mean, that's it? I talked about working late with you and how my mum's on-set, and then the next thing I tweet is that I'm going out for dinner with two people I love. It's not as if I'm in London and could be referring to any number of people." How on earth can Colin be so calm about this? It seems almost incomprehensible.

"Well, it's not as if you said you're having dinner with and then shagging Colin Morgan. You could have been talking about anyone."

"But they're going to _assume_ I'm talking about you. How the hell else would _you_ interpret that?"

"And you know what they say about assuming, right?"

"All right, who are you and what the hell have you done with the real Colin Morgan?"

Laughing, Colin stands up and reaches down to grab one of Bradley's hands, entwining their fingers and pulling him to his feet. "You worry too much. A wise man told me not so long ago that people could assume whatever they liked, as long as we knew where we stood. That's good enough for me. Let's go."

"So, wait a second. You're really not angry?" Bradley gapes, still in a state of shock.

Colin shrugs, the pad of his thumb rubbing gentle circles against Bradley's fingers, touch soothing against his skin. "No. I mean, I always knew something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. As I say, it could have been so much worse. This is barely anything to blink at. Plausible deniability, after all."

"Do you want me to stop tweeting? Because as you know, my filters are almost non-existent, and next time it _could_ be something so much worse," Bradley says sheepishly. It's not the kind of thing he would usually ask a partner. He does what he likes and isn't about to let whomever he's dating dictate how he should live his life. But Colin means more to him than he can even articulate, and Bradley is honestly and truly willing to give it up, if that's what Colin wants. Besides, there's more at stake here than simply the reveal of an on-set relationship.

But Colin doesn't even hesitate when he answers. "No, of course not. You obviously love it, though I'm still not quite sure _why_ , and it's clear that your fans love that you're online and accessible. I'd never ask you to give up something that makes you so happy."

"Being with you makes me happier than being on twitter. Far happier. A million times happier, in fact—"

But he is cut off by Colin's mouth, warm and eager, descending on him. Bradley instinctively wraps his free arm around Colin's waist as his tongue licks into Bradley's mouth, sliding slick and hot against his own tongue. The whole thing ends far too quickly for Bradley's liking, and to his embarrassment, he actually whimpers just a little when the contact is lost.

God, he loves Colin so much. "In case I haven't told you in a while, you're amazing, and I love you."

Colin presses one more lingering kiss to Bradley's lips before pulling back, grinning like a fool. "I know I am. And I love you too, you utter sap. God, you're unbelievable sometimes."

"Unbelievably charming, you mean."

A very deliberate and purposeful silence extends between them while Colin tries and fails to keep a straight face. "Something like that."

Tugging on their linked hands, Bradley leads Colin towards the door. "We should get going, otherwise we'll be late and then mum will start asking questions that we probably don't want to answer."

"Right. We wouldn't want that," Colin agrees with a wink and a smile, and Bradley will be damned if his chest isn't swelling like some school girl whose crush has just waved at her.

Bradley decides then and there that he's going to have to come up with a very clever way of tweeting that he plans on engaging in mind-blowing, kinky acts all night long with his incredibly awesome boyfriend without actually _saying_ anything at all, but that's a challenge he's definitely willing to accept. Then again, Bradley's starting to wonder if maybe the people in twitter land don't need to know _everything_ he's thinking and doing. After all, there’s nothing wrong with making assumptions.


End file.
